Portrait: Soul-singer Kingsley Q

“Pop music sung by a soul voice” – that’s how Kingsley Q describes his music. A life without music became impossible for the young artist from Berlin. The uprising RnB/Pop-singer recently released his first single. Talking to afrika!-magazine he revealed his musical idols and more.

Although Kingsley Q’s first single has just been released he is already working on his first EP. The young artist from Berlin with Ghanaian roots wants to proof that he is not only able to sing emotional pop-ballads like “When she sings” but also up-tempo songs. Kingsley is well prepared for starting his career. He went to ACADEMY, a school for performing arts in Berlin, Kreuzberg, for two years. A video for “When she sings” has already been produced and deals a complex story: “We did not want to tell the typical tale of ‚A man meeting a woman who changes his life completely‘ because it is so usual. We wanted to make something dramatic and mystical”, Kingsley says. His video shows a patient in a hospital who gets the feeling of having everything under control by injections. “The woman who is described in the song is literally this shot”, Kingsley says smirking. He is sure: Unusual videos that draw attention are very important for newcomers. He said, that he was lucky to be accompanied by a professional production team who knew exactly what to do.

What does really matter?

Music is Kingsley’s great passion, he can’t imagine a life without. Already in his childhood music was omnipresent in his family. He learned much from his cousin, “The Voice of Germany”-winner Ivy Quainoo: “She told me much about music business. Nevertheless participating in a casting show is not an option for me. To stay in business one has to work hard, make own experiences and has to fight. Many of those steps are taken from those 16- to 20-year-old people attending at a casting show. That’s why they can’t establish themselves as musicians afterwards.” For him there is nothing better in the world than impressing people with his music give them goose bumps or move them to tears. In his early years Kingsley wanted to dance like his idol Michael Jackson, but later on he focused on singing. That was what was praised for, he admits. For example for his covers on Youtube. Mic Donet, an artist for Mannheim found Kingsley’s live-cover of his song “Losing you” and shared it with the words: “My song ,Losing You‘! Young Kingsley did it quite well!”.

Big Idols

Apart from Michael Jackson, the 22-year-old looks up to artists like Kwabs, Craig David and Ne-Yo. He is dreaming of the chance to work with superstar Rihanna but he is also interested in a cooperation with German artists like Xavier Naidoo and Cassandra Steen. At the moment he has no problems with stage fright as during his first performances. He admits, that he is more exited when the audience is smaller: “When I see people from near, I am thinking that now I have to give my very best. Facing a mass I am more concentrated and keep on singing.” Who wants to see Kingsley Q live should follow his Facebook account where he announces his next performances. His first EP with 5 songs will be released in the second half of the year. The production team from Berlin he is working with has already brought Sarah Connor and Adel Tawil into business – we can be curious. Until then you can watch his music video “When she sings” here !